Bloomington, Minnesota Facts

• Early pioneers who moved to the Bloomington area in 1851 named their new settlement after their hometown: Bloomington, Illinois. The name, ironically enough, means flowering field.
• During the 1960s, Bloomington experienced a population boom as businesses moved into the area, I-35W and I-494 were completed and every major sports team in Minnesota played within its city limits. Bloomington’s slogan became “All the Businesses That Will Fit.”
• Nearly a third of Bloomington’s 39 square miles is comprised of reserved park land, including the Minnesota Valley wetlands and Hyland Lake Park Reserve.
• Bloomington celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2008. The state of Minnesota, along with the city of Bloomington, was officially recognized in 1858.
• The cities of Bloomington and Minneapolis are the farthest north latitude cities to ever host a World Series game.
• Tom Burnett, a Bloomington native, was among the 44 people killed on United Airlines Flight 93 during the September 11 terrorist attacks. He was able to call his wife after the plane was hijacked and is credited with helping fight the terrorists. A memorial recognizing his heroism now stands in Bloomington.
• The Mall of America® is located on the former site of the Metropolitan Stadium, home of the Minnesota Twins and Vikings until 1982 when the Humphrey Metrodome opened in Minneapolis.
• Mall of America is big enough to hold 32 Boeing 747s.
• If a shopper spent 10 minutes browsing at every store, it would take them more than 86 hours to complete their visit to Mall of America.
• Bloomington is the 5th largest city in Minnesota, with a population of 85,000.
• Thanks to the Mall of America, several large company headquarters like International Dairy Queen, Toro, Ceridian, HeathPartners, Best Buy, and a booming hospitality network, the city of Bloomington has more jobs per capita than either St. Paul or Minneapolis.
  
  

Minnesota Facts

• Land of 10,000 lakes: Well, actually there are 12,034 lakes in Minnesota larger than ten acres. Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world. Minnesota boasts 90,000 miles of lake and river shoreline, more shoreline than California, Florida and Hawaii combined.
• The Headwaters of the Mississippi River is located in Itasca State Park.
• Minnesota's economy consistently ranks as one of the nation’s strongest and best.
• Famous firms with headquarters in Minnesota include Best Buy, Northwest Airlines, Medtronic, Carlson Companies, Target Corporation, SuperValu, 3M and more.
• The metro area boasts an astonishing 929 lakes.
• Minneapolis alone has over 170 parks.
• Minnesota has nearly 475 golf courses and adds more each year.
• The Twin Cities are recognized nationally as a cultural center, with a strong arts community in everything from music and literature to dance and visual arts.
• There are nearly 400 professional and community theaters statewide, with about half of them in the Twin Cities—which has more theater seats per capita than any other city outside New York.